Narcissus
by Scratchy Wilson
Summary: Ishida teaches Yumichika about the myth of Narcissus and gets a lesson himself.


A/N: When I started this it was supposed to have a funny ending with Ikkaku chasing Ishida to protect his friend's honor- and then it failed. Epically- that's what I get for trying to write humor. What I got was Yumichika being all non-shallow and insightful. Set at the beginning of the Arrancar arc.

Disclaimer: Not for profit and all that implies. Tite Kubo owns all.

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**Narcissus**

Ishida was at another strategy session at Urahara-Shoten to deal with the appearance of Aizen's arrancar, although strategy session might be a generous name for the meeting of mismatched shinigami and humans determined to protect their home themselves. Everyone had fallen comfortably back into their roles- Rangiku and Orihime were swapping recipes for increasingly disturbing dishes, Renji, Ikkaku, and Ichigo were trading insults like it was a sport, Chad was quietly watching his friends one-up-man ship, Uruhara, Rukia, and Histugaya were the only ones actually being productive, Yumichika was in front of the mirror, and Ishida was observing everyone else.

From his experiences with these particular representatives of the Gotei 13, Ishida wasn't surprised at their behavior. They may not be considered normal by human, or even shinigami, standards but they were acting like they always did. And it was comforting in an way. A very odd way.

You had the outspoken pinup, the loudmouth, the tough guy, the level-headed junior, the steely commander, and the narcissist- and they played their roles masterfully.

Ishida's attention was drawn by Yumichika's constant muttering that occasionally slipped into well-enunciated curses. He seemed perturbed by the way the feathers decorating his eye were standing.

"Ugly Urahara … can't render this beauty … ugly gigai … too beautiful to know what to do with … if only I had … ugly Urahara … _my feathers_!" Yumichika ended in a wail. The feathers he kept trying to hold in place drooped the moment he moved his hand away.

"Ayasegawa-san, have you ever heard the myth of Narcissus?" Ishida asked while pushing up his glasses.

"No Ishida-kun, I haven't. Is it a tale of beauty?" Yumichika responded with a bright smile, the uncooperative feathers forgotten for the moment.

"You could think of it that way. Narcissus was supposed to have been the most beautiful man to have ever lived. Everyone that caught even a glimpse of him instantly fell in love. But Narcissus was also incredibly vain. He never even considered any of his admirers because he deemed them not beautiful enough to be worthy of his love. One day he was out hunting in a forest and stopped at a deep pool to rest. As he bent over to take a drink, he saw the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

"Determined to have this beautiful person for himself, Narcissus began talking to him. He soon became very angry because the man he had fallen so quickly in love with never responded to any of his questions. Frustrated and outraged that someone would not be in love with him, Narcissus jumped into the pool to kill the beautiful man. If he couldn't love Narcissus, then Narcissus was resolved that no one else should have this man."

Yumichika interrupted with a shocked gasp. "And what happened to Narcissus? And his love? You said this was a tale of beauty!"

"I'm getting to that, Ayasegawa-san. So, Narcissus jumped into the pool to kill this beautiful man that had dared to not be moved by Narcissus' own beauty. But the truth of it was that Narcissus had only seen his own reflection in the pool, and drowned because he had fallen in love with himself," Ishida finished.

During Ishida's story, Yumichika had sat down cross-legged on the floor and was now glaring at him.

"That was not a tale of beauty, Ishida-kun!" Yumichika said exasperatedly. "The most beautiful people must also be the happiest. Narcissus deserved to fall in love with someone beautiful! As beautiful as himself!"

"Myths are meant to teach people a lesson. The tale of Narcissus may end unhappily, but it shows that beauty isn't everything in a person's life," Ishida argued.

Yumichika sighed. "So you think I am nothing more than shallow? That all I care about in this world is beauty?"

"Well you certainly talk enough about it," Ishida responded quietly. He didn't know why he had told Yumichika about Narcissus, or how the conversation became so serious. He was honestly surprised when Yumichika laughed suddenly.

"Ishida-kun! Your honesty and concern are truly beautiful! I may speak of beauty more than anything else but I'm aware of what really matters," he said. "Beauty gives me joy, but so does seeing Ikkaku fighting because it makes him happy."

Ishida regarded the man sitting across from him. It made him uncomfortable to think that he had defined someone based on a single characteristic, and, perhaps more so, that his definition was wrong.

"In this war, we must all know what we're fighting for. I am fighting for beauty, yes, but the beauty that comes with peace and the beauty of seeing my friends happy," Yumichika said. "What are you fighting for, Ishida-kun?"

Ishida thought for a moment before replying. "I suppose I'm fighting for the Quincy pride, but not just to show Quincy are superior to shinigami, to restore honor to our clan. And to protect my friends."

Yumichika nodded and said, "It's important to know what you're fighting for- what you're fighting to protect. Don't ever forget it."

Yumichika left Ishida to his own thoughts and joined the small group working on a strategy. Yumichika had surprised Ishida with his advice and insight. Maybe he had underestimated the dark-haired shinigami, and maybe the title of narcissist didn't fit so well after all.


End file.
